One Last Run
by vastrajennystrax
Summary: After being summoned to the Red Citadel of Shallacatop, the Doctor discovers that an enemy he desperately and personally wants to defeat is claiming victims all over the nine mountains, and he must seek the help of a stranger if he is to stop them. But after discovering who it was that summoned him to Shallacatop, will this be his last run with River Song?
1. Ange Des Larmes

The purple skies of Shallacatop were bright with a thousand stars as people hiked across the nine mountains towards the Red Citadel. Everything about the planet was beautiful, and always had been beautiful, but the figure sat in the meadows of the second mountain couldn't appreciate the scenary before him. From here he couldn't see the mirrored waters which bordered the Citadel and led out to the sea, but he had a clear view as the tourists and locals walking in pairs or groups towards the scarlet towers and the distance, and suddenly he felt lonely. The Doctor wished he could have brought Clara with him to the Red Citadel, but the psychic paper had asked him to come alone and after recent events he knew Clara needed time to recover.

Before he had time to start making his way towards the towers, an agonising scream rang through the mountains, coming from the direction of the Citadel, and he was already running towards the source. The TARDIS was sitting behind some foliage on the borders of the third mountain, so he didn't have to worry about it being noticed. By the time he reached the ninth mountain he could see a small crowd had formed around a limp form on the ground.

"Everyone get back!" exclaimed a girl at the front of the crowd, probably no more than sixteen or seventeen years old by human standards, "can't you see that this person needs help?" Her skin was pale, and her hair fell down to her lower back in long strands of dark brown; her eyes were a similar colour and held the warmth and emotion of a human rather than a citizen of Shallacatop.

"Who put you in charge, Sophia?" asked an annoyed onlooker, clearly wanting to get a good look at the body on the floor rather than having to be held back by the girl in front of him.

"I'm not in charge! I'm just the only person who realises that someone's been hurt and that he should do something about it rather than gawp at them".

"Don't worry" the Doctor beamed from the sidelines; he admired the girl called Sophia for being far more understanding than the locals, "I'm a doctor, let me through". He made his way to the person on the floor and began to make the sort of checks that a doctor would make, "erm . . . you do realise this person is dead?"

The crowd gasped in horror and began to talk to each other in frantic whispers, some even ran towards the Citadel and others back across the mountains to inform everyone of what had happened.

"Of course I knew she was dead" Sophie replied indignantly, "I'm not stupid! These people were already on edge after some of them saw this person being attacked; I didn't want to give them more of a reason to start panicking".

"But this is Shallacatop, not exactly the intergalactic centre of zero crime rates, people get murdered here every day". As much as it pained him to say it this was true, despite its beauty and valour Shallacatop had one of the highest crime rates in this galaxy and by now locals had gotten used to finding people murdered in the most unlikely places.

"It's more than that" Sophie said.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't see the attack, but those who did described the attacker for the rest of us. There are few creatures fouler than the _angedes larmes_"; her accent was English but she was clearly speaking French.

"That . . . that sounds like-"

"French. I'm human, I grew up in France in the fourty-ninth century-"

"When the two nations divided it's citizens and formed a secondary alliance in preparation for the Sixth Intergalactic War with the Sontarans" which explained why the TARDIS hadn't translated the words; she was from the future but speaking the language of the past.

"You're smart" Sophia sounded genuinely impressed.

"I'm a Doctor".

"But seeing as you didn't react to the name _angedes larmes _you either don't know the language or don't know the creatures".

"What does it mean" although the Doctor feared he already knew.

"It's ancient French, meaning angel of tears".

His hearts stopped at the words. If the weeping angels were in Shallacatop then everyone on the planet was in danger, but far worse than that was that the Doctor would stop at nothing to kill every last one of them. "So you know of them then?"

"I have enountered and destroyed them so many times now. The last time I saw them they took something from me that I will never see again no matter how much I want to, and for that I will hunt them down and destroy them". Sophia was suddenly scared at the Doctor's vengeful attitude towards the weeping angels, but the stories she had heard about them suggested that his attitude was entirely justified.

"That's strange".

"What is?"

"The woman in the Citadel said almost the exact same thing. What did you say your name was again?"

"The Doctor"

"Doctor Who?"

"Isn't _that_ a question. Who is the woman in the Citadel?"

"She never told me her name. But she said she needed to contact the Doctor to help get rid of the angels, and that she had personal business with them after they took something from her that she was sad to lose".

"Wait, I thought you were the one who contacted me!"

"But I don't even know you!"

"But you found the vict-"

"She did say something else, a message she wanted me to pass on to The Doctor if I found him on the mountains, although I never really thought about it before".

"What was the message?"

"Hello Sweetie"; the Doctor was already halfway to the Citadel before Sophia realised he had gone. The Doctor ran across the ninth mountain and towards with tower with three things on his mind, one; the weeping angels would be destroyed once and for all even if it meant his life, two; he never thought he would see the woman in the Citadel ever again and so didn't need to think twice about why the tears were running down his cheeks and why there was a smile on his face, and three; Sophia seemed eerily familiar but he didn't know why and was afraid he would find out soon.


	2. Gwyon

The high towers of the Red Citadel glistened under the second sun as the day began to come to an end, but the sisters of the Citadel were too restless to appreciate the scenery of the nine mountains. They had seen two people running up the mountain towards the gates leading up to the main atrium; the first, a man clad in a bow-tie and dinner jacket, and the second, Sophia, who had been talking with the high priestess a short time ago before the sound of a scream from the mountains had drawn her away. During the visit she had been kind to the sisters and demonstrated the makings of a potential citizen of the Citadel, but now her fast pace and peculiar companion made the sisters worried and concerned.

The sisters wore long scarlet robes and headdresses that covered most of their skin, but the purple scaly complexion that was common in this region of Shallacatop could still be seen on their bare hands and faces; it was only the high priestess who didn't have purple skin.

"Who is that man?" Sister Draeah asked frantically.

"He is not of this world, neither is the girl Sophia, but she is easily human" came the response of Sister Braxes from the other side of the chapel, where the sisters had a clear view of the main atrium and the two figures running towards it.

"Do you imply that the man is not human? Or a citizen of Shallacatop?"

"I _imply, _sisters, that he is of no species yet known to me by my experience; he is something I have never encountered before".

"We should inform the high priestess of their arrival!" bellowed Sister Hephlia, a recently ascended sister who was almost in tears over the ordeal. The Sisters of the Citadel very rarely saw men, particularly men who were not from Shallacatop and who were running towards them determined and frantic.

"I will tell her at once" Sister Draeah assured, she had always been a sort of secondary leader to the sisters as she had been a member of the Citadel longer even than the priestess. She calmly picked up her scarlet robes and made her way towards the chapel stairs, which led to the living quarters of the high priestess. "Oh my!" Draeah squealed halfway up the stairs, as oddly one of the chapel's statues had been moved into the centre of a step and blocked the sister's path. "Some sort of foul joke, probably that Sophia girl, if she's capable of running over mountains with strangers she's certainly capable of this!"

"Nobody moved that statue, Sister Draeah" said a figure from the top of the stairs; a figure that even in the fading light of the sunset could be recognised by every sister of the Citadel.

"Priestess Gwyon!" the sister exclaimed, "what do you mean nobody moved the statue? It must have done, for statues cannot move themselves".

"Statues can't, Draeah, but monsters can". At the moment a cry was heard from the chapel below, and mistakenly both women turned towards the sound and by the time the high priestess realised what she had done it was too late, "do not turn around, sister!"

"Ahhh!" In the fraction of a second it had taken them both to gaze at the bottom of the stairs, imagining the chaos taking place in the chapel beneath them, Draeah was seized from around the waste and the neck, her attacker made entirely of stone. "This is witchcraft! From the barbarous planets of the third galaxy!"

"Don't be so harsh, sweetie-"

"Sweetie?"

"Sister, I said sister. It is not witchcraft, this is a monster more terrible than the punishment dreamed of by your _sacred _religion" the priestess said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Priestess Gwyon! This is most blasphemous and shocking of someone so faithful as yourself!"

"I'm not a priestess, sweetie, and I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do to save you now. The second I turn my back that creature will kill you, I'm so sorry". It took Draeah a few moments to realise what she had been told, and before the tears of fear and panic could flow she composed herself and remembered her vows.

"I have shown you authority, and therefore you are my priestess, and so I ask you to leave before you too are taken by this stone monster and to not mourn my death; you may laugh at my religion but I have always been faithful and so welcome death as merely the final hurdle".

"Draeah-"

"No, priestess, the movements of the beast have left a gap on the stairway for you to reach the chapel; the other sisters need you and, I fear, so do the strangers who may have already entered the Citadel".

"I should hope they have" Priestess Gwyon laughed to herself knowingly, she could only hope that The Doctor was causing a fuss with the young girls of the Red Citadel. "That man you all fear so much is someone I would gladly welcome into my Citadel even on the darkest of days, especially when he brings a third party". She continued to laugh, and Sister Draeah was far too afraid to ponder the euphemism.

"If I might ask, what is your real name?"

"Sister Braxes has been teaching you human languages, hasn't she?"

"Yes".

"So you know what the human English word is for Gwyon?"

"Of course! Gywon is Shallacatop's word for moving water, it is often used to describe the river, and the-"

"Pond, yes". The priestess glared at the sinister statue with hatred as she said the word, and looked as if she was struggled with emotions she couldn't reveal to the sister about to die. "Have faith, Sister Draeah"

"I always do, perhaps you may need it as well, Gwyon". The priestess simply smiled at her fellow citizen of the Citadel before making her way down the stone staircase; she allowed her thoughts to keep her from hearing the sound of a neck breaking a few steps above her, a body falling to the ground, and stone footsteps scraping across the paving as they chased after her.


	3. The Two Suns

"I'm sorry" Sister Braxes announced nervously to the intruders, "but the chapel is currently off limits to visitors; the rest of the Citadel is open to the public".

"I need to speak with the woman upstairs" the Doctor replied, much to the shock of the sisters.

"You mustn't speak of the high priestess in so brazen" injerjected Sister Merthorn, who had been busy wondering where Draeah had gotten too but now tuned into the argument at the man's insulting tone. The Doctor was ready with a response, "Your high priestess-"

"Is glad you are here" the woman herself interrupted.

"Priestess!" the sisters beamed, bowing their heads in respect. She was quite the sore thumb amongst the citizens of Shallacatop with her tanned skin and frizzy blonde hair; she was perhaps the only high priestess of the Red Citadel to ever wear lipstick on her face and high heels under her scarlet robes.

"Hello sweetie"

"Priestess" the Doctor tried to hide his amusement.

"Where is Sister Draeah?" Hephlia asked anxiously.

"Draeah is dead; she was killed by one of the monsters I warned you about, which means none of us are safe here". The sisters stifled gasps and many began to cry at their fallen friend and secondary leader, but it was the look from the Doctor which caused the priestess to clear the image of Draeah's final moments from her mind.

"The weeping angels"

"Yes"

"Are there more?"

"Doctor," she looked genuinely worried, "the angels are statues, and we're in a chapel at the centre of one of this galaxy's largest Citadels; they're everywhere".

"Do you have a plan?"

"Come with me" she began to run towards a side door which led into a stone corridor that adjoined the chapel, with the Doctor and Sophia, who had remained quiet during their brief time in the Citadel, following close behind. She eventually led them to a small broom cupboard which, as the Doctor would expect of her, was small and would require cosying up.

"You like broom cupboards?"

"Spoilers"

"Oh I already know" he tried to sound flirtatious, something only she could bring out in him, "I just didn't know where we where at the moment . . . River?" she was suddenly looking down and away from him, as if trying to hide the emotion on her face.

"Have we . . . have we done Manhatten yet?"

"Yes" before he could let her cry, he stood two strides in her direction and threw his arms around her in an embrace, knowing that they both shared the same pain; he could never tell her that it was also seeing her, after what had happened at Trenzalore, which made him want to hold her like this.

"We'll destroy them all, sweetie" she whispered into his shoulder, "they deserve to die".

"Whatever you lost, it must have been very precious to you, priestess" came a third voice; they had forgotten that Sophia was with them and she immediately looked apologetic for interrupting their moment.

"I'm River Song, not a priestess".

"But-"

"I'd heard that the angels were building up armies in this galaxy, mainly on Shallacatop, which was bad as even when they were scavengers they caused a lot of damage. The real priestess is enjoying an extended holiday on Jahoo; a little hallucinogenic lipstick on the sisters and suddenly they thing I've been their high priestess for years. I suspected the angels would infiltrate the Citadel, mainly because it was the centre of the region and was full of statues, but I also thought such a high profile tourist attraction would eventually attract the attention of _travellers" _she said whilst looking at the Doctor with a seductive smile and the Doctor suddenly looked smug. "But then as usual he failed to make an appearance so I had to message him through his psychic paper; I asked you to keep an eye out for him for extra insurance".

The Doctor's smug grin faded into one of annoyance, but he couldn't be annoyed at River for more than a few seconds these days, "Why were you in the Citadel?" he asked Sophia.

"I came to light candles; my parents and my brother went missing a few months ago, I know it sounds silly but I'd been preparing to travel here so I could seek divine help in finding them again; I'll be back in a minute". The Doctor's gaze followed her with shock and remorse, but whether she had left to shed a tear or light her intended candles it was an opportunity for him to ask River something that had been on his mind for a while now.

"Do you recognise her?"

"What?"

"Sophia; what do you know about her? She's familiar but I don't know why or where from".

"Have we really gotten to the point where you take so many young girls with you in the TARDIS that you don't recognise one from the other?" she meant it as a joke, but he looked at her seriously.

"Every face is important to me, you know that more than anyone else, and I never forget anyone".

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"So what plan do you have?"

"At the heart of the Citadel they've contained the ancient sun, which folklore suggests was picked out of the sky by the sisters before it could die and theough prayer in it's place a new sun was formed; the second sun. Rubbish, I know, but there is definitely a strong source of light in the Citadel which is so powerful that, if used correctly-"

"Could be used as a weapon against the angels. A source of light on this scale could even, if altered correctly-"

"Turn the angels permamently into stone, yes, yes, but it won't be that easy. We have very little time to do it".

"Why?"

"This is Shallacatop, and the sun is setting. The second sun was always believed to be inferior to the ancient sun; a mere substitute; which the locals believe can be verified as the night is darker than that of the night on every other planet. When the sun goes down no light is left behind, and now that the angels have built themselves up-"

"A planet in complete blackness and darkness is the perfect time and place to start taking victims; they can move about freely because no one will ever see them".

"Exactly".


End file.
